Patrimony

We deny to claim "any Superiority to ourself
to defyne, decyde, or determyn any Article or Poynt
of the Christian Fayth and Relligion,
or to chang any Ancient Ceremony of the Church
from the Forme before received and observed
by the Catholick and Apostolick Church."

Norman Simplicity

Norman Simplicity
Click image for original | © Vitrearum (Allan Barton)

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Martinmas

I have been studying (as a rank amateur) the Leofric Missal, which dates back to the mid-eleventh century. I should like to know much more about the state of Western Christianity before the "Great Schism."

In the Kalendar, there is a high degree of conformity with the Red Letter days of the Prayer Book. Except for the Assumption and three "foreign" saints:

Although these disappeared, think of the numerous churches named after them. It would be interesting to consider why these three were held in such high regard in England.

A side note: Early liturgical books sometimes observe the following pattern in their arrangement: Christmas to Pentecost and its octave; the votive masses; after the octave of Pentecost through Advent. Since often the first votive mass was for the Trinity and because, in the earliest tradition, the Sunday after Pentecost was vacat, one can see how the practice emerged. But there is no Trinity Sunday or Corpus Christi in the Leofric Missal. Therein, the octave of Pentecost is fully preserved.

Oranges and lemons,
Say the bells of St. Clement's.

You owe me five farthings,
Say the bells of St. Martin's.

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